Cal Alum Camryn Rogers Defends World Hammer Throw Crown

Originally posted on Cal Bears on SI | By Jeff Faraudo | Last updated Sep 15, 2025 2:26 PM ET

Camryn Rogers continues to add to her track and field legacy.

But after defending her title in the women’s hammer throw at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Monday with a throw that lifted her to No. 2 on the all-time global list, the 26-year-old Cal grad was transported back to her start in the sport.

“I first picked up a hammer on January 5, 2012,” Rogers recalled to reporters. "I'll never forget the date, it's just ingrained in my head.

“It was not good, I promise you. But at that moment, I just couldn't think of any time in my life where I'd felt more powerful.

“(My 80-meter throw) makes me think of my 12-year-old self and it makes me think of everything that she dreamed of when she started training. I just think of her and I just think of how proud she would be of me.”

The Canadian record-holder, who won three NCAA titles at Cal, added a second World Championships crown to a trophy case that also includes a gold medal from the 2024 Paris Olympics.

No Cal track and field athlete boasts a resume that compares to what Rogers has achieved.

She won emphatically, with a lifetime-best throw of a lifetime-best throw of 264 feet, 1 inch (80.51 meters). It was her first career throw of 80 meters — just the fourth woman to reach that barrier — and the best mark in the world in eight years.

She had the two longest throws of her career, the four best in the competition and won by a margin of nearly 10 feet over silver medalist Jie Zhou of China.

Rogers recorded longest throw in North American history, eclipsing the standard of 263-6 (80.31), set by DeAnna Price of the United States in 2021. Price finished fifth on Monday at 246-5 (75.10).

Rogers’ winning toss was the longest in the world since Poland’s Anita Wlodarczyk threw 271-10 (82.87) in July 2017. That mark was just short of Wlodarczyk’s still-standing 2016 world record of 272-3 (82.98).

Now 40 years old, the three-time Olympic champ and four-time World gold medalist finished sixth in Monday’s competition with a mark of 251-5 (76.64).

Rogers took pride in delivering her best performance in front of a woman she has admired for a decade.

“I remember watching her break the world record in 2016, twice, she did at the Olympics and then she did it three weeks later and I was like, ‘Okay, go off icon, go off queen’," Rogers said.

“But she came up to me afterwards today and gave me a hug and she said to me, ‘Welcome to the 80-meter club. And I feel like my whole heart just exploded.

“Not only is 12 year old me internally screaming, but 26-year-old me is also externally screaming.”

Other Bears in Tokyo

— Rowan Hamilton, a 25-year-old Canadian who won the 2024 NCAA title while at Cal, placed 16th among 36 entries in the qualifying of the men’s hammer with a throw of 247-4 (75.38). Hamilton improved his standing after being seeded 25th.

— Anna Purchase, 25, of England, a former Cal teammate of Rogers, finished 18th in hammer throw qualifying with a mark of 227-6 (69.35).

— Valentina Savva, 20, of Cyprus, who competed for Cal last spring, was 32nd in the hammer throw qualifying at 217-6 (66.20).

— Caisa-Marie Lindfors, 25, of Sweden, a 2024 Olympian, finished 26th in qualifying for the women’s discus with a mark of 190-6 (62.57).

This article first appeared on Cal Bears on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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